Age Differences in Consumers' Search for Information: Public Policy Implications

Catherine A. Cole; Siva K. Balasubramanian

doi:10.1086/209341

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Age Differences in Consumers' Search for Information: Public Policy Implications

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Age Differences in Consumers' Search for Information: Public Policy Implications

Catherine A. Cole and Siva K. Balasubramanian

The Journal of consumer research, Vol.20(1), pp.157-169

06/01/1993

DOI: 10.1086/209341

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Abstract

We investigated whether consumers in their sixties (or older) can use nutritional information as accurately as younger consumers in a pair of studies, the first conducted in a supermarket setting, the second in a laboratory. Both studies indicate that, when shoppers are instructed to select a cereal according to specific nutritional criteria, elderly subjects are less likely than younger subjects to search intensely and to select an appropriate cereal. In the laboratory setting, however, the age-related differences diminished when subjects wrote down all the nutritional information acquired during their search. Age-related changes in information-processing ability may explain the findings Implications for public policy are discussed.

Age

Age groups

Brands

Consumer behavior

Consumer research

Information search

Older adults

Sodium

Supermarkets

Working memory

Details

Title: Subtitle: Age Differences in Consumers' Search for Information: Public Policy Implications
Creators: Catherine A. Cole - University of Iowa
Siva K. Balasubramanian
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: The Journal of consumer research, Vol.20(1), pp.157-169
DOI: 10.1086/209341
ISSN: 0093-5301
eISSN: 1537-5277
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Number of pages: 13
Language: English
Date published: 06/01/1993
Academic Unit: Marketing
Record Identifier: 9984963136902771

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